Motorola Moto Z Play: Price, release date, specs and news

Motorola is hoping that its Moto Mod system of interchangeable hardware will bring a revolution to smartphone design in the same way the Apple App Store changed mobile software delivery. While the Moto Z is the flagship at the heart of this plan, the Moto Z Play adds a mid-range option to the market that can take advantage of the full suite of Moto Mod attachments.

Motorola Moto Z Play: What is it?

Launching alongside its thinner, more expensive brother the Moto Z, the Moto Z Play is a mid-range handset designed to offer the Moto Z's modular hardware platform at a lower price point. There's a SnapDragon 625 running things, as well as half the onboard storage (down to 32GB), a lower res 1080p 5.5-inch screen and a thicker body. The upside of that thicker body comes in the form of battery life though, with a 3,510mAh battery installed on the Play making it ideal for, well, playing.

While the Z Play looks to hold its own spec wise by itself against many of today's best mid-range smartphones, the key selling point – as with the Moto Z – is the interchangeable system of Moto Mods. The ability to add a Hasselblad camera lens with dedicated shutter button and 10x optical zoom, or a JBL loudspeaker, my magnetically attaching it to the back of the smartphone is the key selling point for the Moto Z Play.

The seamless design of the Moto Mods mean that regardless of which mod is selected, the Z Play still looks and works like a quality smartphone. Motorola has even created a engineering kit to allow enthusiastic modders to create their own Moto Mod for the Z family of smartphones.

Motorola Moto Z Play: Australian release date

The Moto Z Play will land on Australian store shelves and online on 13 October, through Motorola's digital store, as well as Harvey Norman, The Good Guys and Officeworks.

Motorola Moto Z Play: Price

At $699 RRP, the Moto Z Play is going head to head against the like of the Sony Xperia X as a mid-range device, with everything from the storage to the camera and processor.

Of course, the asking price here doesn't include any of the Moto Mods, which are arguably the biggest selling point for the phone in the first place, so it's worth considering the additional costs before purchasing the phone.

The Moto Z Play's battery life promises to be a real selling point, with reports of the phone delivering up to 45 hours of battery life from the handset itself. Coupled with a battery pack Moto Mod, and those looking for an extended use handset could have a solid performing phone.

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